Worthy of Trust and Confidence
by jadedandboring
Summary: When a rogue fraternity guy threatens First Daughter Bella Swan, Secret Service agent Cullen steps in to protect her. What happens after is more than either of them expected.
1. Chapter 1

**Special thanks to DizzyGrl28 for beta duties and to my girls who forced me to write this. Mwah!**

**I don't own Twilight, its characters, or anything else that is publicly recognizable. SecretServiceWard is mine. **

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"Look, Dad. I know I can't realistically go back to school without protection. But I just want a chance to feel like a normal kid, and being with AARP Gold Member Billy Black isn't going to help me blend in. All I'm asking for is someone closer to my age."

Charlie - Mr. President to everyone but Mom and me - scratches the back of his neck and sighs. "I'll talk to Sam."

I'm not used to getting my way, but I think Charlie feels bad for me. It's been a grueling year for the entire family and I see this as a thank you from him for doing my First Daughter duties without complaining . . . too much.

Two hours later, Charlie calls me into his office. I glare at Billy Black, who would _never_ fit in on Pepperdine's campus, when he starts tailing me as soon as I leave my bedroom.

"Take three steps back, Billy. Please. We're _in_ the White House. Pretty sure they do hefty security checks, plus no one is in this wing right now but Mom and me."

Billy is the strong, silent type. He huffs a bit, but takes a step away from me. I shrug; I'll take what I can get.

Dad's smile is wide when I walk into his office. Sam Uley is here, and standing next to him is the prettiest man I've ever seen. No, really - he's _pretty_. He's got this weird shade of dark red hair, and I catch a glimpse of green eyes before he slides those damn sunglasses on.

I'm trying really hard not to be obvious when I check him out, but it's nearly impossible. I'm kind of grateful right now that these guys are required to wear suits because words fail me when I look at Pretty Guy in a suit.

"Bella?" When Charlie says my name, I realize that he and Sam have been talking to me for the last few minutes, and I haven't paid any attention to them.

Pretty Guy tries to cover a snicker with a cough, but fails miserably. I give him a dirty look and turn to smile at Charlie.

"Yeah, sorry. Thinking about what I still have to pack for school."

Sam smiles and I know I'm totally busted.

"Bella, this is Edward Cullen. He's going to Pepperdine with you. You think twenty-seven is young enough to blend in?" Charlie asks.

There is no fucking way Pretty Guy is going to school with me. I'll never get anything done. I wonder if Renee has seen him; she'd have a field day with this. Suddenly I wonder if this is some sick joke. "Are you serious?" I sputter.

"As a heart attack," Sam says. "Cullen is one of my best agents."

"You'll have to excuse me, but," I turn to Edward Cullen and smile at him, "how is it that you're already here? I mean, not like here, here because I'm sure you came by car or whatever, but how did you wind up _here_ already? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're still in your twenties. You just strike me as a little young for someone protecting my family."

One of these days, I'll figure out when is a good time to shut up.

Edward Cullen dazzles me with his smile. Wait - dazzles? When did I become a bumbling idiot who uses words like dazzles to describe what someone's smile does to me? I blush and offer a weak smile back. If nothing else, he will make my return to Pepperdine interesting.

**

Two weeks later, I'm on the commercial flight from hell. Edward Cullen is sitting next to me, and he keeps muttering about LAX being a security nightmare for him.

"Perk up, Cullen," I say, shoving his shoulder. "California will be good for you. Sun, a beautiful campus, girls in bikinis, the works. Or, you know, guys in board shorts if that's your thing."

"Isabella, I am not gay," Edward tells me.

I snort and tell him he defended his sexuality a little too quickly, but his secret is safe with me. I snort again at my horrible joke.

A roll of his perfect apple green eyes later, Edward has pulled out a sleek black clip board with a compartment for his file folders and is explaining how he's registered for all the same classes as me. He also thinks it will be a pain to commute to campus from my new apartment. I wanted to stay in the dorms again, but apparently that was the worst idea ever. He nearly quashed my request to live with my roommate from last year, but Charlie met her at a campaign stop in Yorba Linda and vouched for her.

I'm fed up with Mr. Serious Business Secret Service Agent, so I start bouncing in my seat. "Come _on_, Cullen. Can't you lighten up just a little?"

"Isabella, this is a very serious matter. "

"You think too much, Cullen." I make a big show out of stretching my arms over my head and leaning back against the seat. My hands smack the controls over my head and I swear pretty loudly. "You'd think Dad would have at least sprung for First Class, right?"

"Can't even give the _illusion_ of wasting taxpayer dollars."

I sigh and decide to look Edward over - _really_ look at the way he's dressed - to see if I think he'll fit in at Pepperdine. I wonder if there is a way to tell my subconscious to screw off when I feel a blush rising to my cheeks the moment Edward shifts in his seat and I see the muscles flex in his forearms, making me feel squishy.

I've somehow managed to talk him out of traveling in a suit, though he wouldn't give up the ear piece or the sunglasses. I suspect the sunglasses have some kind of screen built in to them and are attached to a camera, so he essentially has eyes in the back of his head. I am determined to get him to admit this.

After perusing his polo shirt and neatly pressed khakis, I decide Edward will fit in relatively well. The shoes have got to go, though. He's wearing . . . "Are those _Hush Puppies?_"

"What's wrong with my shoes, Isabella?" Edward snaps. "And yes, they are."

"They need to go. You're going to stick out like a sore thumb. Have you ever heard of flip flops?"

"I hate the way the thing feels between my toes," he admits.

Ah, insight into the enigma that is Edward Cullen. I decide to let this drop, _for now_. "Whatever Cullen. Think it's safe for me to take a nap?"

Edward huffs and nods curtly, so I put my seat back and try to get comfortable. I think I fail miserably, but I wake up when Edward shakes my shoulder and calls my name. "Isabella, we're here."

I've never negotiated LAX as fast as I do with Edward pulling me along. We make it to the apartment before Alice, and I'm not entirely surprised to discover the two bedroom has been swapped for a three bedroom.

"You're moving in?"

"You need protection around the clock," he says.

I open my mouth to make a smart comment, but I'm interrupted by a loud squeal when Alice flies through the door.

"Bellaaaaaaa!" she yells, jumping into my arms.

Edward flies into action, pulling Alice away from me and putting her down across the room. "Ma'am, you can't do that," he says politely.

"Are you kidding me? Bella, does Hottie McSecret Service Agent know who I am?"

"Ma'am?" Edward asks.

"Oh, can it with the ma'am, Cullen! Alice, Edward. Edward, Alice. Get used to seeing her around here; she _lives_ here. Alice, be nice. Edward's a little . . . stiff." I blush when I realize what I've said.

Alice giggles - because that's what Alice does - and winks at me.

**

We're halfway through the semester and I have to admit Edward Cullen has done a better job of blending in and being a "college student" than Billy Black ever would have done. He's even managed to feign an interest in my Modern Art class, though I've learned over the past several weeks that he prefers the classics.

Because he is enrolled in all of my classes, Edward has to do the required reading, write the papers, and take all of the exams. Apparently he forgot to think of that when he suggested to Sam that he register instead of just standing in the back of the lecture hall looking all intimidating.

There are books, papers, and notes scattered all over my bedroom floor. Edward is a perfectionist in every sense of the word, so he can't be bothered to squeak by in these classes; no, Edward Cullen has to have a perfect GPA after this semester at Pepperdine.

He's frustrated because he doesn't like the way our Economics professor words questions on exams, and he's sick of looking for the correct answer for his take home test.

"I got that one an hour ago." I point to the one unanswered question on his paper.

"I'll find it, Isabella. It's just . . . Well, this man has no idea how to teach Economics properly."

"It's Bella," I snap. "And you do?"

"I certainly wouldn't teach it this way!"

"Exactly. This is why you're a government agent and he's a tenured professor." I throw my pen down and smile. "We should take a break. Food?"

"Can we get Chinese? I don't think I could stand if you ordered pizza again this week."

"I'm a college student, Edward. I live off of cold pizza and stale beer."

"You don't look like it," he says so softly I'm not sure I've heard him correctly.

Forty five minutes later, we're sitting at the kitchen table with our food. Edward is quizzing me from the Econ test and I'm fed up. "Stop! I can't take any more of this right now. Let's talk about you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. You know everything about me."

"It's my job to know everything about you."

"Yes, I know. Like I was saying, you know everything about me. All I know about you is your first and last name, what you do for a living, and that you hate Modern Art even though you pretend otherwise. I'd like to get to know you better."

Edward blushes and ducks his head slightly. "I'm not that interesting."

"I beg to differ. Middle name?"

"Anthony, after my grandfather."

"Where did you go to college? The first time," I amend when he gestures widely around him.

"Northwestern. I was born in Chicago."

I tap my chin, trying to think of something else to ask Edward. This is much harder than I imagined it would be. "Why Secret Service? Why not FBI or CIA?"

Edward blushes again and _my_ face heats as I watch the color trail down his throat and under the crisp white shirt he's wearing.

"I've always wanted to protect the President," he finally admits.

"Instead you got stuck with his petulant daughter."

"You're not _always_ petulant. Sometimes you're rather pleasant to be around," he smiles. "I don't know, Secret Service just seemed more interesting than the others."

"Fair enough. Have you always been like this? I don't want to sound rude or anything, Edward, but you're kind of uptight."

"I have to be. If anything happened to you, I couldn't live with myself."

"You barely fit in, though. No normal coed dresses as well as you do, and you never, _ever_ let anyone see you relax. In fact, I'm pretty certain you sleep fully clothed. Your room is impossibly neat, everything has to be done the right way or you panic, and I don't know . . . You seem like you're always on edge."

"I do my best, Isabella. I have to do things the way I do them, because there are certain protocols that must stay in place for your protection. I do not panic, ever. It's not part of the job description. And I don't sleep fully clothed, " he smirks.

I can't think of anything else to ask him right now, though I want to. I'm fascinated by him, and I really want to know as much as possible, but I don't want to resort to questions usually reserved for first dates. Edward and I certainly aren't dating.

When my cell rings, Edward reaches for it at the same time I do. Our hands touch briefly and I blush again because this touch affects me in ways it probably shouldn't if I want Edward to keep his job.

"Hi Alice."

"Bella, I'm at this amazing party. You should come."

"I don't know, Ali. I've got a killer Econ take home to do." I wink at Edward. The test _was_ killer, but I've been done with it for hours. He still refuses to accept my offered gift of the one answer he's missing.

"Isabella Swan, it's Friday night. I don't care what homework you have. Come to the party."

Edward has one eyebrow raised, and I know he's going to take a lot of convincing. "I need to talk with Edward," I say after a moment. "I'll text you when he decides."

Alice demands to talk to Edward about it, but I hang up on her.

I hate this. I hate not being able to just toss my homework aside and go to a party if that's what I want to do. Edward is _not_ one of my parents; he shouldn't be making calls like this for me. I know the logic behind why he has to say it's okay or not, but that doesn't mean I'm happy with it.

"Alice invited me to a party."

"Absolutely not. I know nothing about this; there's no way I can be sure it's secure."

"Edward, it's a college party. The most dangerous thing there will be the digestive pyrotechnics of the frat boys who've had too much to drink. I haven't been to a single party since Charlie announced he was running for President. Please?" I'm whining, but I really don't care.

Edward sighs and I can practically see the wheels turning in his brain. "I'm going with you," he says after several minutes.

"I kind of figured."

He drops his plate in the sink and is almost to the door before he realizes I'm still sitting at the table. "Do you want to go or not?"

"I do. But you're not going to this party dressed like that." He's still dressed in his suit. His jacket is still on and he hasn't even loosened his tie, despite the fact that we've been studying for the past four hours.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"You're going to stick out like a sore thumb, Edward. I know people here aren't stupid and they know who you are, but there's no reason to make it completely obvious."

Five minutes after he disappears into his bedroom, he reemerges wearing khakis, a polo shirt and boat shoes. I really, really need to take him shopping for better footwear.

"You look like you're headed to a polo match."

"I look fine. Let's go."

"Wait here." I'm in the hallway before he can stop me, banging on the neighbor's door. "Emmett! Open up!"

Emmett throws the door open, looking frantic. "What's wrong, Bella?"

"I need to borrow that t-shirt you tried to wear last week. Don't argue with me, it was too tight on you."

Emmett hands over the black t-shirt, but not before he asks me a million and one questions about why I need it. "Don't worry about it," I tell him.

Edward hasn't moved from where he was standing in the kitchen. He looks a little dazed, and drops the shirt when I throw it to him. "Put this on."

I expect Edward to go back into his room to change, so when he reaches behind his head and pulls his current shirt off, I'm stunned.

He's not half naked for very long, but the brief glimpse I get of his chest leaves me breathless. In the span of ten seconds, I see a tightly muscled chest covered with a smattering of hair, notice that his biceps are really well defined, his abs are a thing of beauty, and I wonder what the end of his happy trail looks like.

My throat has gone dry and I swallow several times before I figure out how to speak again. "Don't tuck that in," is all I can manage.

His pants are awful, so I force him to make a pit stop for jeans before we go to the party. This time, I don't hide my staring. I'm bold enough, in fact, to lick my lips when Edward turns around and asks if the jeans fit well enough.

He wants to drive to the party, but because it's only a fifteen minute walk and we've been holed up in the house all day studying, I beg him to walk with me. Our fingers brush a few times while we're walking and I feel something akin to a static shock when they do. I wonder if he feels it too, when he snatches his hand away from me after just a second.

We've just arrived and found Alice when one of the house's brothers decides it's his sole mission in life to tell me all about how Charlie's energy policies suck. I try to explain - nicely - that I really don't give a shit what this guy thinks. His entire demeanor screams that he's not a member of Charlie's party, and I've been briefed by nearly everyone and their mother about how to handle these situations.

Edward is oblivious to my extensive training and steps in, asking Mr. Drill, Baby, Drill! to take a step back, and several of DBD's brothers who have also stepped up. I hear them coercing him to leave me alone, explaining that they're just trying to have a party, and if it'll make him feel better, they'll ask me to leave. Part of me wants to be really offended, but another part of me is so disenchanted after Tyler - that's Mr. DBD's name, by the way - accosts me, that I just want to go home and curl up with Edward to watch a movie.

Wait, what?

Mr. DBD ignores his brothers and keeps screaming obscenities about how relying on foreign oil is going to cost our children the country, and I can tell by the tinge of pink on the tips of Edward's ears that he's had enough.

"Tyler," Edward says, putting his body between Mr. DBD and me, "you need to take several steps back, and possibly a cold shower to calm your temper down. You will not speak to Isabella that way again, are we clear?"

Apparently Edward's as clear as mud, because Tyler chooses that moment to lunge at me.

There is a flurry of activity. Edward pushes me away. I land in Alice's arms; she's as shocked as me about the current situation.

Tyler's brothers probably should have jumped in at this point, but they're smarter than he is. They also know who Edward is, and that messing with him would be very bad for their health.

By the time I have my bearings back, Tyler is in a heap on the floor yelling things like "lawsuit!" and "motherfucker!" Edward is kneeling in front of me, hands on either side of my face so he can force me to look him directly in the eye, asking me if I'm okay.

I tell him I'm fine, but I'm lying. I'm so far from fine that I'm not even traveling in the direction of fine. I am, for lack of a better term, hot and bothered. This is the first time Edward has had to jump in and save me from any bad guy and I had no idea it would be so hot.

If I was approaching infatuation with him before, I've blown completely past it, well on my way to full blown obsession.

I can't really think of anything other than his eyes and the way the light is catching on the subtle highlights in his hair. Feeling Edward's strong, slightly rough, hands on my face makes me curious about what they'd feel like elsewhere on my body. I keep watching his mouth move as he talks to me, and I've decided it's my sole mission in life to find out what his lips feel like with my own.

There's no excuse for what happens next. One minute I'm watching Edward talk to me, the next my lips are pressed against his and he's not pulling away.

Edward stands up, pulling my body with his, and turns me around to press my back against a wall. His lips are soft and smooth and forceful against mine, and I really can't see myself ever kissing anyone else again.

His hands slide down my body and are on my ass before I realize what's happening. His groan when he lifts me up so I can wrap my legs around his waist is muffled by my mouth, and my own joins the chorus when he pushes me against his hardness.

Oh, _God_. I don't know if I've ever felt anything like this. Now that my legs are locked around him, Edward takes one hand away from my ass and runs it along my side. His thumb just grazes the underside of my breast before he mumbles, "Fuck it," into my hair and palms the entire thing.

I've clasped my hands behind his neck and am grinding against him with abandon. This feels good, and if he lets me keep going, I'm going to come. Edward's lips are all over my neck, my face, my lips. When he decides to pay special attention to the spot behind my ear, I whisper to him how good this feels. He moans again and I think I hear "gonna come," and "this is fucking inconvenient," before the world explodes around me.

My eyes are squeezed shut and I just _feel_. The orgasm, his length against me, his hands on my ass and face; his body stiffens under me as he buries his face in my neck and mumbles a string of curse words that would make the Pope blush.

We don't move. I'm still wrapped around him, panting, and we're sharing chaste kisses, whispering to one another. I'm just starting to come out of the post orgasm haze when I catch a glimpse of Alice over Edward's shoulder. She smirks at me and I hear her wonder, out loud, if Charlie has the authority to order executions.

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**Thank you for reading! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Special thanks to DizzyGrl28 for beta duties.**

**Shout out to the girls from The Nest. I'm pretty sure they were plotting to beg, borrow, and steal to get me to write E's POV for this story. **

**I don't own Twilight, its characters, or anything else that is publicly recognizable. SecretServiceWard is mine.  


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**It's been a long day, and all I want to do is go home, go for a run, and veg out on the couch with a beer.

I'm just about to leave when my ear piece crackles and Sam Uley asks me to come have a chat with him. This is either really good news and I've been promoted to protecting the President, or it's really bad news and Sam is going to fire me.

I wrack my brain, trying to think if I've done anything against protocol lately, and almost immediately, I laugh out loud. The guys in the Academy called me a stick in the mud with good reason - I _never_ break the rules.

I run a hand nervously through my hair and let Sam know I'll be right down. Just in case, I pack up my stuff. I straighten my tie and jacket, then head for Sam's office.

Sam doesn't fire me, but I can't hide my disappointment when he tells me I'm not looking after Angler after all; I've been assigned to attend Pepperdine University with Book. This isn't the end of the world . . . right?

"Come on, Cullen," Sam says. "We're going to tell her now. Have you met Book?"

"No sir, she left before I had a chance," I tell him.

He knows I'm referring to the night of the Inauguration. Book - First Daughter Isabella Swan - took off with her friends, nearly giving her current agent, Billy Black, a heart attack. She'd been found around one in the morning in a bar in Georgetown singing karaoke and declaring she didn't give a damn about her bad reputation.

Normally I'd have been helping look for her, but Sam had ordered me to stay with Angler and Feather, to make sure their first dance went off without a hitch.

I follow Sam into the Oval Office, and though I'd never admit it, I'm like a little boy on Christmas morning over being in here. President Swan exchanges pleasantries with Sam and I hang back until Sam gestures for me to step forward. He introduces me as one of his best agents; I nearly blush.

Book - Isabella - comes in several moments later, followed closely by Billy Black. When I see how close he actually stands to her, I finally understand why she wants someone closer to her age to go back to school with her.

I quickly slide my sunglasses on so I can look her over without her knowledge; mirrored sunglasses are one small benefit of this job. I have to bite the inside of my cheek really hard to keep from smirking when I see that she's checking me out, too. When her father, who's been speaking for the past several moments, calls her name and she jerks in surprise, I cough to cover my laugh.

I must not have done as well as I thought, because she fires a nasty look at me before turning back to her father.

Sam introduces us and explains to Bella that I'll be heading back to Pepperdine with her in a couple of weeks. I'm a bit offended when she says I look too young to be protecting her family. What does _she_ know about how hard I've worked to get this far in my career at such a young age?

I decide I'm up for playing her coy little games and smile widely at her. It's a smile I don't often use, especially not when I'm just meeting someone, but the blush and weak smile she offers in return let me know I've done as much as I can for now.

**

On a good day I hate commercial flights. Today, I loathe them. I'm flying with Bella to Los Angeles and I cannot get the nightmare of security at LAX out of my mind.

Bella does everything in her power to cheer me up, but she's really just annoying me right now. It doesn't matter how adorable she looks in her jeans and low cut Pepperdine Waves t-shirt; I am not in the mood for her constant chattering today.

I blanch when she accuses me of being gay. Do I give off a gay vibe? Is it just because I tell her I don't care about girls in bikinis? I'll never admit that I'd really like to see_ her_ in a bikini.

I pull out some information to share with her - we're in all the same classes - and I can tell she's getting fed up with my seriousness. "I'm really not looking forward to the commute from the apartment to campus but I guess I'll just have to endure it."

I am not happy with her decision to live with last year's roommate. It doesn't matter to me that her father vouched for Mary Alice Brandon of Biloxi, Mississippi. I'm more annoyed than anything that she's got her Facebook privacy settings so high that I had a hard time viewing her profile without calling someone in our tech department. She checks out fine, but I want to know why she's so cautious; there's no way it can be because of Bella.

Bella starts making fun of my shoes, and I huff angrily. I finally admit to her why I don't like flip flops and she seems to let the subject of my clothing drop. She tells me she's going to take a nap and I sigh happily. There's no way I'm not getting at least an hour of silence if she does manage to fall asleep.

I'm wrong. Bella talks in her sleep. An interesting revelation, but what's more interesting is what she _says_. She says my name more than once and in a different tone than I've ever heard her use when addressing me. Her voice has a note of . . . longing to it. This is certainly a fascinating revelation.

I wake her when we land and drag her through the airport. She seems surprised when we arrive at her apartment and there's an extra bedroom. She didn't _really_ think I wasn't going to move in, did she?

I'm immediately on alert when someone shouts her name and jumps into her arms. I pull the offending woman off of Bella and deposit her across the room.

I'm not at all shocked to find that this is Mary Alice Brandon - Alice to everyone who knows her. I knew she was bubbly and full of life, but I never expected to pull her off of Bella at our first meeting.

**

I abhor Modern Art, and I don't know if I'm doing a good job of hiding it. Even more than Modern Art, I hate that I'm taking Economics again. I didn't like this the first time I went to college, and I'm annoyed with Bella for deciding at the last minute to take it this semester.

We're studying and working on a take home test for Econ and Bella has just obnoxiously pointed out that she found the answer I'm looking for on the test an hour ago. It bothers me, but there's absolutely no way I'm taking that kind of help from her. In order to hide my frustration, I start raging about the professor's horrible teaching style.

Bella _finally_ snaps at me for calling her Isabella; I'm happy I've finally gotten a rise of her with this. I don't think she realizes I call her Isabella because I know it bothers her.

She changes the subject quickly, suggesting we eat. I request Chinese, because we've eaten pizza almost every night this week. After the food arrives, I quiz her from the dreaded take home test. When she gets annoyed with that, she starts asking me questions about me.

This is awkward.

It's tough for me to admit the reason I joined the Secret Service is because I wanted to protect her father. She looks a little sad when I tell her this, and comments on how petulant she is. She's not always this way, and I tell her so.

I'm dying to brush the hair that's fallen in her face away, but I can't touch her unless I'm pushing her out of the way of some kind of danger. There are specific protocols that have to be followed, and the lust that's been growing in me over the past several months is definitely _not_ part of that protocol.

She makes a comment about how she thinks I sleep fully clothed and I am barely able to contain my scoff. If she knew what goes on after my bedroom door closes for the night, she'd probably ask Sam if Billy Black can be assigned back to her protection.

Her cell phone rings and I reach for it at the same time as her. My hand brushes hers a bit, and while I notice her blush, I hope she misses the palm I attempt to discretely press to my crotch in an attempt to adjust myself.

Obviously, I can only hear Bella's side of the conversation. I learn it's Alice on the phone, and when Bella says she has to talk to me about something, I have a feeling Alice is trying to get her to go to a party.

At first, I refuse. I know nothing about the location or the people who will be there, and there's no way I'm comfortable with her going, even with the knowledge that I'd be there the entire time. She begs and pleads, andI finally agree to allow her to go, on the condition that I go with her.

For some reason, I assumed she'd have thought going alone was a possibility. She surprises me when she tells me she knows I'm going to have to go with her.

She stares at me while I move my dishes to the sink, and I ask if she really wants to go. There's something wrong with my clothes, she says. I glance down, taking in the suit I wore during the day. I don't see anything wrong with what I'm wearing, but I want to see her smile her real smile for me, the one I rarely see.

Apparently what I've got on when I return to the kitchen isn't good enough for her. She bounds out of the apartment so quickly that I'm still standing in the kitchen, shocked, when she returns a few moments later with a t-shirt and orders me to put it on.

Rather than go back into my room to change, I reach behind my head and pull off the polo shirt I put on not ten minutes ago. This is for convenience, and it's a strategic move. I'll never admit it out loud, but I want her to see me half naked, to show her that I can be without my shirt like one of the guys who come over to the apartment and parade around half naked.

Bella tells me not to tuck the shirt in, and her voice is kind of strangled. I find myself wondering if changing my shirt in front of her was a good idea. I finally decide that it was.

When we leave, I think we're heading for the party, but Bella forces me to go shopping for jeans because my pants are "just awful."

I don't hide my sigh at all, but I do play nicely when she shoves several different pairs of jeans at me. They're ripped and torn, and I really don't understand why anyone would pay over a hundred dollars for torn jeans.

I'm not immune to the look Bella gives me when I turn in front of her and ask if they fit well, though.

"I really don't understand. First of all, who actually shops at Lucky? Secondly, I'm not paying a hundred dollars for torn jeans."

"Shut up, Edward. The girls will be all over you at this party. Get those," she says with a nod of her head.

Instead of letting me change out of the jeans, she snatches the tag off of them and shoves me toward the register. There's an awkward moment when the girl behind the counter has to get the anti-theft tag off of them, but when Bella laughs I can't help but join her.

I want to drive to the party, but it's close enough that Bella convinces me to walk.

Alice comes running up to us with a cup in her hand, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize she's about two and a half sheets to the wind. A few more drinks and she'll be so far gone that I'll have to carry her home. Despite how small she is, this is not a task I'm looking forward to.

Some guy decides to get in Bella's face and starts ranting about her father's politics. I let it go for a few seconds, because Bella is handling it better than I would. I use this time to study the clothes she's wearing.

When we were studying, Bella was wearing her "around the house" sweats and a ratty Waves t-shirt. She must have changed while I was doing the same. She's wearing a tight red sweater and jeans that hug her curves quite well. I know she thinks she looks frumpy next to Alice who is decked out in some tiny little dress because I see Bella's frown around her eyes when she observes her.

When the fraternity guy continues to bitch about Angler's energy policies, I politely ask him to take a step back. Several of his brothers have stepped in and they're suggesting he leave Bella alone, but he doesn't listen. I position myself between Bella and him, and my fingers tingle where they wrap around her wrist.

He doesn't stop yelling. I hear one of his brothers call him Tyler and I tell him to take several steps back, along with a cold shower. Instead, he lunges at Bella. I shove her aside and barely register her landing on Alice before I square off with Tyler. His brothers are smart enough to have backed down at this point.

He throws a punch that never had a chance of landing. He's on the floor before he has a chance to swing again and I'm on my knees in front of Bella, with my hands on either side of her face. I can tell she's lying when she says she's fine, but I don't say anything because I'm so caught up with the gold flecks I can see in her eyes. I've never been this close to her.

Though I'm murmuring to her, I have no clue what I'm actually saying. In an instant, she lunges forward and presses her lips to mine.

I know I should pull away, but I can't. I've spent far too many nights dreaming of this to pull away from her. Protocol be damned, I'm going to kiss her now and face the consequences later. I stand, pulling her with me, and press her against the nearest wall.

Her lips are _so_ much better than I imagined them. There is no doubt in my mind,; she's the best kisser I've ever come across. Her tongue brushes against my lower lip and I'm not at all surprised by how forward she is.

My brain is disconnected from my limbs, and I now fully understand why women tease men about thinking with their dicks because my extremities and lips are responding to it rather than my brain. My hands slide down her body and I cup her ass to lift her up. Her legs wrap around my waist and we groan together, though it's muffled because we're still kissing.

My left hand pulls away to slide along her torso and I curse quietly after gently brushing my thumb along the underside of her breast. The next moment, I'm palming the entire thing and she's pressing her chest into my hand.

Because my brain is still catching up with the rest of my body, it takes a moment to register the way she's grinding against me and how hard I am. Her hands are locked behind my neck and she's pressing against me so hard I feel like my dick might break. I have to breathe, so I pull away slightly. My lips press to her neck, her face, her lips. I find a particularly sensitive spot just behind her ear and I focus on that.

"Edward," Bella gasps, "this is amazing. This feels . . ." She's panting, and I realize I'm about two seconds away from coming.

"Bella," I sputter loud enough for her to hear, "I'm gonna come." I drop the volume of my voice and mutter how inconvenient this is. I don't _like_ the idea of coming in my pants, but fuck if she's not making me feel so good that I can't find it in myself to care at this moment.

Her legs squeeze my hips and she's stopped breathing entirely. I press my face into her neck because I'm right behind her. "Fuck. Shit. Damnit. I can't . . . so good. Fuck, fuck, fuck," I mumble into her hair as I come in long spurts into my boxer briefs.

She continues to cling to me as our breathing calms, whispering how amazing she thinks I am;, how awesome this experience was. I keep pressing my lips to hers chastely. Her eyes are just beginning to focus again when they widen and I hear Alice make some comment about executions from behind me.

It finally dawns on me. We've just dry humped in front of a room full of people.

I just dry humped the President's daughter at a college party. The room is so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and for once, Bella isn't the only one who's blushing.

I'm so screwed. My hands wrap around Bella's thighs and I gently tug at them to pull her legs from around my waist. "Bella," I say as quietly as I can, "we need to get out of here."

The mess in my pants is sticky and uncomfortable, and now I'm really upset I let her talk me into walking. Tyler and his brothers break into applause when I turn to face the crowd. I'm _so_ screwed. A blond guy points me in the direction of the nearest bathroom so I can clean up.

Bella's face is still bright red when I emerge a few minutes later, slightly less uncomfortable than I was before I walked into the bathroom. I grab Bella's hand and practically drag her away from Alice. "Bella, we _have_ to go."

My mind is spinning. I can only hope no one thought to pull out their cameras or cell phones. If this ends up on the news or the internet, I'm going to lose my job.  
_  
_"Edward, calm down. It's going to be fine," she says, pulling on my hand to slow my pace. "I'll take the blame. I'll tell Charlie I was drunk if he finds out about it. There's no way he won't believe that," she adds quietly. I'm sure she's remembering the night of his Inauguration.

"You'll do no such thing," I snap. "I'm going to be proactive. I'm calling Sam the minute I get out of these clothes." I blush then, very aware of what I've just said.

She protests, but I refuse to listen to her. When we get back to the apartment, she goes into her room quietly and emerges a bit later in her pajamas. She's holding several DVD cases and giving me a hopeful look. "It's after one a.m. in Washington. Can you just call Sam tomorrow? We can watch a movie," she says softly.

I can see her point. It's late, but I know Sam will appreciate the heads up. Even if no one managed to get pictures or video of us, this isn't something I can hide from him, or the President for that matter. I shake my head and squeeze my eyes shut as I press send on my cell phone.

Sam was sleeping; I can hear it in his voice. "Cullen? Is everything okay out there?"

"Everything's fine. I have some news for you." My voice is strangled and I can only hope Sam is tired enough to miss it.

"You called me at this hour for news?"

"Yes sir," I mumble nervously. "I think I've become . . . involved . . . with Book, sir."

Sam is wide awake now, and yelling at me. This is against protocol, he'll have my career for this, what is Angler going to say when he finds out. Blah, blah, blah. I glance over at Bella and see she's chewing on her lower lip and her right thumb nail simultaneously. She looks a little green, like she might throw up at any moment.

"I can hear him," she mouths to me.

I curse under my breath, but I don't leave the room. She should hear this. She _deserves_ to hear that I'll likely be pulled from her protection detail and will probably never see her again.

I quit focusing on what Sam is saying when Bella tucks herself under my arm and rests her head against my shoulder. I don't offer any explanation to Sam; I just mutter "Yes sir" and "No sir" a lot. I don't have it in me to defend my actions because, damnit, I enjoyed my time with Bella.

"Cullen!" Sam bellows. "Are you listening to anything I'm saying?"

"Yes sir."

"I'm putting Angler on the phone."

My heart sinks to my stomach. This is not good.

"Cullen." His voice is gruff, like Sam just pulled him out of bed.

Before I can respond, Bella snatches my cell phone away from my ear. "Hi Daddy," she says softly.

She put the phone to the ear furthest away from me, so I'm stuck listening to just her side of the conversation.

"I'll be back in a few weeks for break . . . No, I don't think what Edward and I did was completely inappropriate . . . Well, you weren't there. You saw nothing. I mean, at least we kept our clothes on . . . Dad, you can't _do_ that! I'm 21 years old! . . . Please, Daddy, don't. Don't send Billy out here to replace Edward. He's got finals at the same time I do . . . I don't know. Maybe . . . No, I won't do that."

Her last sentence has me intrigued, because she blushes a bit at whatever question her father asked her. I raise a brow when she meets my eyes and she blushes further, shaking her head slightly.

"Fine," she huffs after several moments of buzzing from the other end of the phone. "Do what you need to do. But if he's fired anyway, he's moving into my room. Billy's just going to have to deal with it . . . That's what I thought. I'll see you in three weeks."

She ends the call with a triumphant smile on her face. "He's pissed," she says. "But, I think I may have saved your job with the comment about you moving in to my room."

For the first time since our escapades at the party, I smile widely. "That's great."

"And I may have agreed to not _actually_ have sex with you, and while I hate that, he'll totally know if it happens. He's just that good."

My face falls at this. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to sleep with her, especially after tonight.

"I'm sorry," she says, kissing me. "I never said I wouldn't kiss you, though." She pulls away from me and smirks, an evil glimmer in her eye. "And he said sex. He never said anything about this." Her hands tug at the waistband of my lounge pants and my eyes roll back in my head when she presses her lips to my cock.

* * *

**I'm not sure whether or not I'm going to continue this. If I do, it won't be until after **_**Tie Me Here in Time**_** is finished. **

**Thank you so much for reading. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Obviously, I caved. Enjoy SSward.  
**

* * *

"I think I'm going to throw something at him. You know, to see if I can make him turn around like the ducks in that crappy carnival game," Alice giggles.

"I don't think that would be a wise idea."

"Well, it's not my fault you won't help him relieve his tension," she quips.

"I'm not allowed," I growl.

"Blow jobs are not sex, Bella."

"It's not like I haven't tried," I sigh. "_He_ won't let me. 'Angler will be here next week, Isabella,'" I mock Edward's voice. "'I can't have him catching us doing _things._' He hasn't even let me kiss him in three days."

"Girl, you need to check your man," Alice says in the way only a woman from Biloxi can. "Encourage him," she tells me with a smile.

"How does one encourage one's super uptight . . . Edward, are you my boyfriend?" I giggle. He sighs, covers the mouthpiece of the cell phone that's been glued to his ear for the past two hours, and shrugs while mouthing, "We'll talk about this later."

"Like I was saying, how does one encourage one's uptight . . ." I wave a hand in Edward's general direction.

"Secret Service detail," Alice supplies.

"Yes. Secret Service detail. How do I encourage him?"

Alice gets a wicked grin on her face and I immediately regret asking her for help _encouraging_ Edward. I know her and to her, the definition of encouragement likely includes tiny shorts, belly shirts, and no bra.

Two weeks after our not so secret activities at the fraternity party Alice invited me to - I still haven't forgiven her for that, by the way - Edward and I have fallen into a comfortable rhythm. Well, I'm comfortable with it anyway. Because someone up there was smiling on us, my dad's Press Secretary, Angela, managed to keep the pictures and cell phone videos out of the media, but it was all anyone talked about on campus. After threatening my dad with Edward moving into my room in the event he was fired, Sam and Charlie agreed to let Edward stay on as my agent, as long as we were discrete about our interactions. They weren't saying we couldn't be involved, but Charlie had mentioned something about bringing me back to D.C. so fast my head would spin if I were photographed in such a compromising position with Edward again.

Yeah, Daddy had seen the cell phone footage and wasn't exactly thrilled that his baby girl was dry humping in public.

So, until a few days ago we were kissing, having fun, trading orgasms. Of course, it was all inside the well structured rules Edward laid out for us. Of course, there was no kissing or touching in public. There were also rules about needing to do homework before he'd let me touch him, not sleeping in each others' rooms, and what was and wasn't appropriate sleep wear. For the record, I still don't know what he sleeps in, or even what his room looks like without the lights on and the curtains wide open. He won't let me in there after dark, and that's not something I'm happy to admit.

"So," Alice starts, "what we're going to do is . . ."

# # #

"I can't wear this to dinner," I hiss at Alice four days later. When I explained that my dad was arriving this evening and we were going to dinner with him, Alice set about helping me pick out the perfect outfit. Unfortunately, Alice's definition of perfect is drastically different than mine.

"So it's a little low cut." Alice bats at the air. "Who cares? Edward will love it."

"It's low cut and the skirt is so short you can practically see my non-existent panty line," I grouse. Alice has decided I shouldn't wear anything but thongs ever again and to ensure my compliance, she actually stole my underwear. I dare anyone to try explaining to a Southern woman hellbent on turning you into a fashionista that running in a thong is uncomfortable. "Regardless of what you think is appropriate, Alice - and please know I love you - this is so not acceptable for dinner with my father. And it's certainly not appropriate for dinner with the President of the United States."

Alice huffs her acquiescence and pulls an appropriate dress from my closet. I affix tiny diamond studs in my ears - a gift from Edward for my birthday - and fluff my hair, then head for the living room. "I'm sorry you're not coming this time, Alice," I say walking out of my bedroom. "But it's probably for the best. I'm sure I'm going to get an epic lecture, one that's probably meant for two," I sigh, looking to where Edward is fidgeting in the corner. "C'mon, Ed. Let's do this."

"Don't call me Ed," he snaps.

"Always so formal," Alice snickers as we walk through door.

# # #

"I never said you couldn't have a boyfriend, Bells," Charlie chides two hours later. "I just didn't know you'd go and dry hump your Secret Service agent against a wall at a frat party." He sighs heavily and shakes his head. "You know he could have been fired for that?"

"So you said." My tone is dry. "Look Dad, we've been really good about it since then. Edward won't even let me touch him in public. Angela did a great job of keeping this mostly hidden from the media. Daddy," I lay a hand on his arm and implore him to look at me, "I really like him. I know it's not exactly . . . normal, but I'd like to see where this goes. I don't want to lose him," I whisper.

Edward is standing three feet away, failing in his attempt to pretend he's not listening to every word the two of us say. Even though he's wearing those damn sunglasses, I can tell when he's looking at me because my entire body heats up. I smile tightly and wait for Charlie's verdict.

Charlie takes a few bites of his salad and furrows his brow the way he does when he's thinking hard about something. Finally, he sets his fork on the table and motions for Edward to sit with us. Edward looks like he might shit his pants at any moment, and when I reach for his hand to squeeze it reassuringly, he acts as though I've burned him. He's _way_too serious about the not touching in public thing.

"Okay," Charlie starts. "I think I have this worked out. Bella, you'll need a new agent." He raises a hand to silence me when I immediately start to protest. "You need a new agent, young lady," he says firmly. "But I think I've figured out a way you," he looks at Edward, "can stay here. While I don't exactly relish the idea of my daughter dating someone in your line of work - Bella, it's dangerous work. Kindly keep your mouth shut," Charlie snaps when again I start to protest.

"As I was saying," he turns his body away from mine and looks Edward in the eye. "I don't enjoy the idea of my daughter dating someone like you. It's not that I don't think you're a good man. I do. Sam and Billy have nothing but compliments on your work ethic and strict adherence to policy. But I know how dangerous it can be, especially given that you're protecting my family.

"So here's the plan." He takes a big breath and waves Sam over. "Edward, you're being reassigned."

This time I won't let a hand held in the air silence me. "Dad, that's not fair. He didn't do anything wrong!"

"He most certainly did. Where in the rule book does it say it's okay for an agent to get involved with someone he's protecting, Book?" Sam snaps.

Charlie jumps back in, attempting to smooth things over. "It's come to the attention of the Secret Service that there are credible threats against Alice Brandon because of her relationship with you, Bella." I snort as soon as Edward groans. Like me, he clearly knows where this is going.

"I've assigned Leah Clearwater to your protection detail," Sam says. "It might be good for you to have a female agent," he mutters. "For now, this is what's going to happen. Leah will audit Alice's classes, because I'm not wasting tax payer money by having you drop them, Edward. When she is not with Alice, you are. In the event class times overlap, you will stay with Bella until Leah relieves you.

"You may maintain your bedroom in their apartment." I perk up a bit at this information. "At the end of the semester, you and Leah will move into the apartment next door. We've already received information that the present residents are flunking out."

"Well, that's not a surprise," I mutter. Edward barely suppresses his laughter. "I don't think Jessica and Mike really care about their classes," I tell Sam. When he raises an eyebrow at me and Edward nudges me, I spit it out. "They have sex. A lot of very loud sex." My face is on fire. Sam's jaw is in danger of becoming unhinged and Charlie's face is just . . . well, let's just say I've never seen my father look quite so stunned as when he realizes I know what sex noises are.

Sam glares at Edward and briefs us on the rest of the changes. I'm not exactly thrilled that Leah will be moving into the apartment with us, but since Edward has seniority over her and is the only male in the apartment, he gets to keep his bedroom. Leah will be on the brand new sleeper sofa being delivered to the apartment right now. I'm sure Alice is having a fit; she decorated our apartment with a specific _theme,_and I'm pretty sure the U.S. Government doesn't give a damn about color palettes and feng shui.

"And Isabella," Sam says as Edward and I get up from the table to head home, "Leah will be making sure there are no sleepovers."

I'm pretty sure I hate Leah already.

# # #

"Alice, it's not that bad!"

"You think I want that uptight sonuvabitch babysitting me? Hello, Bella, I'm trying to earn my MRS degree here." Alice stomps her foot, and I can't help but chuckle at her decidedly Southern state of mind.

"It's not the 1960s, Alice. You can earn an _actual_degree along side the MRS."

"Semantics."

"Didn't you just turn down a date? What was that guy's name? Jedidiah or something?"

"His name is Jasper and he's damn near perfect," Alice says dreamily. "But I can't let him know I think that, now can I?"

I'm more than a little horrified to think she believes in all this MRS degree bullshit; judging by the look on her face, she knows. "For the good Lord's sake, Bella, I'm kidding. I like Jasper. I was just waiting until I had a big strapping man like Edward to protect him from all the salacious things I want to do to him." She winks at me. "Speaking of salacious things, has Edward finally cooled it with the no contact rule?"

"No," I pout. "It's in effect until Dad leaves the state. I know he's got to do his thing and make the people happy. I realize he's running for reelection soon, but can he go home now? I'd like to kiss my . . . Hell, we haven't had that discussion yet."

Alice pats my hand and nods over my shoulder. "Go find out."

I twist in my seat and my face falls slightly. Edward is striding toward me from where he was standing near a tree to give Alice and me privacy during our conversation. He's grimacing, so either he's seen a danger or -

"Isabella?" The woman standing in front of me wears her Hillary Clinton pantsuit proudly.

"Yes?"

"I'm - "

"Leah, we agreed you wouldn't approach her without me."

She whips around to face him. "We agreed on nothing, Cullen." She turns back to me and sticks her hand in my face. "Leah Clearwater."

My eyes flit back and forth between her hand and Edward's eyes, which do nothing to hide his irritation with her. "Nice to meet you," I finally say, giving her a firm handshake. "So we were just going to go back to the apartment." I drag Alice to her feet, knowing full well she isn't ready to go home yet. But I want to have a conversation with Edward and now that Leah is here, the only way I can do it is if Alice and I are in the same place.

Alice and I walk ahead of Leah and Edward, who argue the entire way. When we finally get into the apartment and I wait - so not patiently - as Edward give Leah a run down of the security measures already in place. It's nearly midnight by the time I'm able to drag him into my room ("Keep the door open, Isabella," Leah quips) and finally _talk_to him.

I shut the door with a satisfying click and turn to face him. He's shifting back and forth from foot to foot and eying me warily. "Bella, I'm sorry she -" He shuts up when I put a finger over his lips.

"Shh. It's my turn to talk. I need to know, Edward, now that you're not my protective detail, what are we?"

He's adorably flustered. "I . . . well . . . I thought that was pretty evident," he finally says. "I hope you don't think I'm in the habit of spending hours with my face buried between the thighs of girls with whom I'm not involved. I certainly don't buy them diamond earring for their birthdays." He fingers the studs I now wear daily, then slides his hand behind my neck and pulls me into a searing kiss.

I've missed this so much. It's been nearly a week since he's given me more than a peck on the forehead, and I melt into his body. "I missed you," I mumble against his lips.

"Less talking, more kissing, Isabella," he growls just before taking my lower lip between both of his and nipping at it.

We kiss this way until someone knocks on my door and I pull away from him. He pouts for a minute and I straighten his tie, then finally open the door to Alice, who is beyond irritated. "The only reason I knocked is because I don't especially feel like getting another free look at either of your naked asses. Edward, will you please explain to Leah about the whole me not needing a babysitter to visit Jasper thing? I may kill her otherwise."

"He's been vetted, Clearwater. Alice will be fine next door. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to make out with my girlfriend," he says with an impish smile.

* * *

**Thanks to LyricalKris.**

**So, what do you think?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry I'm fail at responding to reviews. Forgive me?  
**

* * *

"Sam, I said I was sorry. I know the only reason I have a job is because Book talked to Angler. I just think we need to work something out. Angler will be here in two weeks; do you think we could have someone else assigned to her protection detail?"

I'm tugging at my hair and pacing back and forth outside of the restaurant where Alice and Bella are having lunch while I listen to Sam rant and rave _again_ about how unprofessional I am. The minute Alice started questioning Bella about something she called the Rule of Thumb, I decided I was better off waiting for them to finish their meal out of ear shot.

"Fine. I'll get Clearwater reassigned. I think Book might do better with a female agent, don't you?" Sam is really starting to piss me off.

"Yes, sir," I grind out through my teeth. "Clearwater is perfect." Clearwater is no where near perfect and not because she's the only person I know who follows procedure more closely than I do. Clearwater has been working with Feather since Angler was elected, and I have it on good authority that Bella _hates_ Clearwater.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Alice and Bella standing and turning toward the door. "Sam? Book is coming out of the restaurant. I need to go." I hang up before he can yell at me more, and carefully arrange my facial features to keep the news of this new development from Bella.

I fail. Miserably.

"What's wrong?" Bella asks as soon as I'm in her line of sight.

"Nothing. We've got to get to class."

"What's wrong?" She crosses her arms and plants her feet in the middle of the sidewalk. She's stubborn, and I know she won't move until I've given her some kind of explanation for the look on my face.

"It's just that, well . . . "

"Bella! Come look at this!" Alice calls from several store fronts ahead of where we are now. Thank God for Mary Alice Brandon.

"This isn't over, you know," Bella says, taking two steps forward so she's nearly pressed against my chest. "I'll get you to spit it out somehow." She traces the collar of my shirt and I step back like her touch burns me. A look of hurt flashes across her face, and it's all I can do not to cup her cheek and smooth the tension lines around her eyes away.

She sighs and goes to see what new shiny thing has caught Alice's attention for more than five seconds, and I take a deep breath. "I know you will, Bella. I know," I whisper.

# # #

Bella's fingers are tangled in my hair and she's pulling a bit harder than I like, but it's been too long since I've touched her and I don't really care about how hard she's pulling right now. Her tongue is warm and sweet in my mouth and if I died right now, I could legitimately say it would be a happy death.

"Edward," she pants against my mouth, "pants off." Her demand goes straight to my cock, but I can't bring myself to comply. Her father will be here in a week, and I don't want us to get so caught up in the physical aspect of our relationship that we wind up in a compromising position while he's here.

"Bella." I reluctantly pull away from her. "I've been meaning to talk to you about that."

Her face is flushed with arousal, and it's _so_ difficult not to throw her down on the bed and tear the flimsy yoga pants she wears around the house off of her and feast on her body. I think hard about how to approach her with this suggestion, though I know she'll see it as another one of my "weird demands." With a sigh, I set her gently on her bed and sit in her desk chair. "Well, Angler will be here next week," I explain. "And I don't really . . . I just can't have him catch me doing _things_ with you."

She huffs and crosses her arms. "What the fuck do you mean by 'things,' Edward? Are you talking kissing? Because I don't think I can give that up. You taste entirely too good." She starts crawling across her bed toward me.

"No," I say, putting my hand on her forehead to keep her from coming any closer. "No, I mean we can't have him catch us like Alice caught us last week."

"It wasn't that bad. Besides, she didn't actually see anything, despite her rather vocal complaints," Bella pouts.

"I know it upsets you, but I just cannot do further damage to my career."

Her eyes flash angrily and she puts her t-shirt back on in a huff. "You're right. I'm upset. So upset I don't know if I'll ever forgive you."

I'm so glad I'm dealing with Dramatic Bella tonight. I know how to handle her. Teary Bella is the one I still haven't conquered. "Bella, you're being dramatic. It isn't like this . . . embargo is going to last forever."

"I know it isn't," she says matter-of-factly. "Doesn't mean I have to like it while it's in place. Besides," she runs a hand over her collarbone, "I'm willing to bet you crack before I do." One of her hands slides down to cup her breast and she pinches a nipple through the fabric. I groan out loud and I think there might be some drool involved as well.

# # #

Bella is absolutely right. I am going to crack long before she does.

Even though I knew Sam was working on getting Leah Clearwater assigned to Bella's protective detail, I had no idea I'd be stuck with Alice. Of course, I like Alice. She's Bella's best friend and often keeps her sane when I am not around. She's fiercely protective of Bella, too, which I admire, but will never admit.

Since the reassignment and Leah's rather uncouth introduction of herself, except for the few kisses we shared before Alice banged on the door demanding Leah be told Jasper Whitlock had been vetted, Bella hasn't let me touch her. She claims the kisses in her bedroom that night were a moment of weakness and she has decided to stand strong in her decision to be angry with me.

As a result, I'm suffering an epic case of blue balls.

It's been a week since that night and she's been teasing me without mercy. Three days ago, she walked through the apartment nude and pretended to be shocked when she saw me sitting on the couch. Yesterday, I got a rather naughty picture message of Bella pinching her nipple.

I'm not sure how much longer I can take it.

Alice has become close with Jasper in the past month. Because she's my new assignment - and because Leah tattled on me like a petulant child for letting Alice go next door _all alone_ - I'm required to go with her. _Required_, as in I got a rather long lecture from Sam about how I needed to take my duty seriously or risk losing my job.

I think he's full of shit and knows Leah is trying to make my life a living hell, but who's keeping track?

It's because of Alice spending so much time with Jasper that we're having a beer while she sits on the couch discussing the finer points of Brazilian bikini waxes with Rosalie, who is dating Jasper's roommate Emmett. Jasper and I, along with Emmett, are discussing how best to _not_ give in to all of Bella's teasing.

"Here's what ya do," Jasper drawls. He's only slightly less Southern than Alice. He's from Texas and despite a solidly Confederate ancestry, his mother is from New York, so Alice affectionately calls him her Damn Yankee. "You have to tease her right back. Don't kiss her, but get real close. Breathe on her neck or ear. Make her _think_ you're going to kiss her, but pull away just as she tries to press herself to your lips."

"Or you could just do what she did and walk around naked," Emmett says.

"Never mind the two extra women I live with, right?" I ask dryly.

"No, no, no. Emmett, shut the fuck up." Jasper throws a bottle cap at him and continues. "Do romantic things. Draw a bath for her after she gets back from a run with Leah. That's actually doubly beneficial, because Bella will be impressed and think you're going to crack, and Leah will be pissed because she can't shower until Bella is finished in the bathroom."

I laugh loudly and Alice looks up at me with a raised eyebrow. It's like she _knows _what we're talking about and if I could read her thoughts, she'd be telling me she's absolutely going to find some way of extracting details from me before we walk the five feet to our own door.

Alice is really irritating sometimes.

I'm accurate in my interpretation of Alice's raised eyebrow. When she finally detaches herself from Jasper's mouth and he closes the door behind us, she grabs my elbow. "What do you think you're doing, mister?"

"Alice, you'll need to be more specific. Right now, I'm going home to finish my homework and go to sleep."

Alice stomps her foot in irritation. "What are you going to do about Bella? I know she thinks you're going to crack first. I think you are, too," she says, crossing her arms and smiling up at me expectantly.

"I am not going to crack," I mutter as I open the door to the apartment.

I decide Jasper's advice might not completely suck, and I'm going to give it the old college try.

The next afternoon, when Bella gets back from her run with Leah, I go into the bathroom and draw a bath for her. She gives me a strange look, but once she sinks into the bubbles, she sighs and tells me she might fall in love with me if I'm not careful.

That? Would not suck.

Leah spends the entire time Bella occupies the bathroom giving me a verbal lashing. She's like a persistent gnat. When Bella finally exits - in nothing but a tiny towel - Leah runs in and slams the door so hard she nearly knocks a framed photo off of the wall.

Later, when we work on our homework together, I lean in and take a deep breath against Bella's neck. She squirms and turns so her face is barely an inch from mine. When she licks her lips, I know she thinks I'm going to kiss her. Instead, I reach to her right and grab a Post-It note with the questions we've been assigned on it. When I pull away from her, she looks astonished for a few seconds. Her brow furrows in confusion and it's nearly impossible not to laugh at her.

I repeat this a few times before she slams her book down on the table and almost knocks her chair over when she pushes away from the table. "What's wrong, Bella?" I ask, feigning innocence.

"Nothing. I'm going to bed. That run, and the bath after, well . . . I'm tired," she says with an exaggerated yawn.

As painful as it is - literally - for me to stay at the table when she walks into her room and closes the door, I do. Fifteen minutes later, Alice knocks on Bella's door and a muffled reply allows her entrance. The walls are thin enough that I can hear them talking, but this is one of those times I wish I had thought to bring eavesdropping equipment with me. When Alice giggles, I know they can't possibly be up to any good in there.

"Bella," I say, knocking on the door, "if you don't mind, I didn't write the assignment for English down."

To my complete surprise, she opens the door for me. "It's on the syllabus," she said with a smirk.

"I don't have mine, you do." Right now, I'm completely grateful for her inability to keep track of important paperwork.

"Oh. Well shit."

"I'm going to go," Alice says. "Let me know how that works out for you Bella." She winks, and now I'm sure they were up to no good.

* * *

**LyricalKris, barburella, and dancn_stacy09 read this before you, and their comments legitimately made me laugh out loud. The folks at work think I'm nuts.**

**What do you think Alice and Bella are up to?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks to LyricalKris & Barburella, who held my hand and pestered the shit out of me until I wrote more.  
**

* * *

Never let it be said Alice is anything other than an evil genius. Her plan to help me get Edward to crack likely borders on illegal (at least for the President's daughter), but if he finally breaks down and realizes he wants to have sex with me after all, I'm all for it.

I could do without all the primping, though.

"Come _on_, Bella," Alice prods. "It's not like the Brazilian is going to kill you, though it might kill Edward . . . " she trails off, a wide, evil grin on her face. "And really, something has to be done about your eyebrows. They are tragic. You'd think you'd have a better beauty team, considering who your father is." She shakes her head as though my lack of perfectly groomed eyebrows should be considered a national tragedy.

"Alice." I sigh heavily and try to get the sudden vision of hanging her by her toes from a ceiling fan in the apartment out of my head. "I agree to the Brazilian. I agreed to the eyebrow plucking, even though I didn't like it. But this idea that I should wear a super short skirt to dinner? It's like you pretend to forget who my father is. I cannot be seen like that in public, and since Edward is no longer my protection detail, we can go on actual dates."

"It's a legitimately good idea," Alice huffs. "How else are you supposed to reenact _Fatal Attraction_?"

"Um, I'm not? He'd have a heart attack in the restaurant."

"Fine. Whatever." She waves her hand dismissively and starts going through what she considers viable clothing options for my date with Edward this evening. I ignore her, as is my general practice these days.

After a lot of begging and a few tears, Alice has managed to get Edward the night off. Like everyone else who comes into contact with Mary Alice Brandon, Sam Uley has fallen for her charms and is now tightly wound around her little finger; he'll do anything for her now that she has him in her clutches.

Dinner is in t-minus five hours. For the next two, I will be waxed within an inch of my life and exfoliated. I'll also receive a massage, which is part of the reason I agreed to the primping the first place. After a quick lunch - Alice says we're going to keep it light so I don't bloat, whatever that means - I've negotiated doing my hair and makeup on my own.

# # #

I'm attempting to keep my hair wrapped around a curling iron when I hear the song coming from Alice's room start over.

"If I have to hear about Gaga taking a ride on someone's disco stick again, I will take a magnet to your precious computer." I give my best bitch face to the mirror, despite knowing Alice can't see me. "Pick something more relaxing or I'm banning you from DJ duty."

When she changes the song to Tik Tok, I slam my bedroom door closed.

Fifteen minutes later, my hair is perfectly coiffed and my makeup is, in my opinion, flawless - barely there and just enough to emphasize my eyes. I'm dressed in a simple black dress - long enough to cover my ass, no thanks to Alice - and flip flops. I wouldn't budge at all on the shoes. I try to calm Alice by pointing out that they've got sparkly stuff on them, but she's really angry about my choice of footwear. Seeing as it has no bearing on this elaborate plan she's come up with, I don't care.

Alice's plan. I shake my head and laugh quietly to myself. I'm grateful she's decided not to attempt to pull this off in public. The plan is for Edward and me to go to dinner and when we're done, come back to the apartment. Not too difficult to pull off, as this is the first time we've gone on an actual date and Sam begged us to keep it simple.

At some point tonight, Alice will piss Jasper off. I have no idea how she's going to pull this off; Jasper is easily the most laid back guy I've ever met. They'll be in the apartment when we get home. We'll agree to hang out with them for a bit. Someone (probably Alice) will propose a game. In the course of said game, Alice and I will end up making out.

I'm _really _grateful this isn't being done in public.

# # #

We're approaching the apartment when I hear a loud crash. Edward goes into Super Sexy Secret Service Agent Mode, and shoves me behind him while shoving his key in the lock and flinging the door open. I can't lie, it's pretty hot seeing my boyfriend in action, and it makes me want to throw the "teasing him until he breaks" plot out of the window.

"Alice," Edward sighs, shoulders relaxing completely once he sees the cause of the crash, "what are you doing?"

"I'm giving this two-bit, no-good, bastard of an excuse for a Texan the what for, that's what!" She lunges at her boyfriend, who has an ugly look on his face. Edward barely manages to scoop her into his arms before she hits Jasper.

My eyes grow wide at Alice's outburst. Whatever Jasper has done to upset her this much is legitimate. I'm almost afraid to ask.

"Alice, if I send you to Bella's room to talk this through with her, are you going to cause her bodily harm?" Thank goodness Edward doesn't sound patronizing. I have a feeling if he did, Alice would have his balls on a platter right now.

"No. I'm not going to hurt anyone but him." Her arms and legs start moving again, and it's all I can do not to laugh. She looks like a pathetic version of a Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em Robot.

Edward walks to my room and drops Alice in a heap just inside the open door. "Stay," he says sternly. "Bella, go talk to her. I'll clean up out here."

I close the door with a quiet click and turn my friend. "Alice." I say this with caution, because I've never seen her so worked up, "What happened?"

"That jackass insulted my daddy!"

Okay, not good. Alice is incredibly protective of her daddy. Alec Brandon, whose only daughter is his namesake, is one of Mississippi's top Realtors.

There was some fiasco a few years back which popped up on her Mr. President mandated background check about Mr. Brandon being a little _too _Southern and refusing to sell properties to a certain sect of the American population. A slap on the wrist and a hefty fine from the Fair Housing section of HUD means it left a mark on his record and didn't destroy his career. It's the reason Alice is so protective. She hates when anyone insults Alec.

"Take a deep breath, Alice. What did he say?"

Alice huffs and swipes a stray tear away from her cheek. "We were looking at pictures on my phone, and we got to a picture of Daddy and me from our family reunion last year. You know the one I mean," she says.

I nod. I do; they looked absolutely ridiculous trying to do the three-legged race together.

"So Jasper says, 'Who's the Yeti? Your cousin Bubba?'" I breathe in sharply. Not only is Alice fiercely protective of her Daddy, she's also proud of her Southern roots. "And you'd think being from Texas, he'd know how that sounds, right? Apparently he doesn't!" she shouts through the closed door.

I don't heave to hear the actual words of Jasper's muffled reply to know this is turning bad, and quickly. I open the door a crack and wave Edward over. "So help me, it will be the War Between the States again if we don't calm these two down."

Edward nods curtly. I slam the door closed before Alice can catch a glimpse of Jasper, take a deep breath, and try like hell to figure out the best way to diffuse the situation before one of them goes off like a powder keg.

"Alice, honey, take a deep breath." I hold my hands out in front of my body, palms raised. The universal hand gesture for 'Please, don't kill me because you're mad at your boyfriend.'

"Oohh, I could just kill him. You know no one talks about my daddy that way, Bella." Her accent is normally minimal, but I can barely understand her right now. "I'm going to murder that redneck with my bare hands!" Again, her shouts are directed at Jasper.

Before I can open my mouth, Edward throws the door open and grabs Alice by her arm. "If you're threatening to murder someone with your bare hands, I will have to remove you from the apartment. I don't care if I'm not her agent anymore, Clearwater," he snaps over his shoulder.

"Wasn't gonna murder Bella. Calm yourself, Agent Ramrod."

Edward snorts. "I'm not the one who needs to calm down. Mary Alice, you sit your tail on that sofa and tell me what happened." He marches her over to the shitty sleeper sofa that doubles at as Leah's bed and forces her to a seated position. "Talk." His glare is sexy and absolutely terrifying.

"He insulted my daddy," Alice sneers.

"I didn't know he was your damn daddy!" Jasper cries. "I certainly didn't know you were going to go all 'The South Will Rise Again' on me."

"You shut up, Jasper Whitlock. I'm finished with you. You get out of my apartment and don't you dare come back."

With a dangerous smile on his face, Jasper says, "Baby," in a voice I'm quite sure can turn even Alice, in her pissed off state, to mush. "I'm sorry. I was trying to joke. You know you told me about your cousin, Bobby. I thought that was him. You have to admit, your daddy is a handsome man. He looks far too young to have a beautiful daughter your age."

Oh, Jasper is good. Amazing, even. She'll be putty in his hands in five minutes as long as he keeps the sweet talk up. In fact, I can see Alice's resolve breaking as he speaks.

"He is handsome," she grouses. "And yes, he looks young for his age. He and Mama were only 18 when they had me, after all. They were high school sweethearts." She's got a faraway look in her eye and I know she's forgiven Jasper completely. "You're forgiven," she says with narrowed yes. "This time. Don't you dare insult my family again."

I smirk over her head at Edward. He smiles at me and just as he's ready to move away from Alice to let her reconcile with Jasper, she tugs me down on the couch beside her. "Oh shit, Bella! I forgot."

Without further warning, she grabs my face between her hands and plants a kiss on my lips. I struggle for approximately two seconds before I realize I've always been curious about kissing a girl, and who better to kiss than my best friend? Her tongue sweeps gently over my lower lip and before I know it, Alice and I are full on making out in front of our boyfriends.

Jasper clears his throat, and I open my eyes to catch him nudging Edward, who looks like a fish out of water. "Dude, that's so hot. What do you think she forgot?"

"I . . . I have . . . Bella, what the . . . ?" Edward gasps.

I don't care. I'm never going to get to do this again, so I ignore him. I'm just about to move my hands to Alice's hair when Edward pulls me away from her, hauls me over his shoulder, and darts into my bedroom. He kicks the door closed, flips the lock, and dumps me unceremoniously on the bed.

"You really shouldn't have done that," he says with a lascivious grin.

* * *

**LyricalKris totally protested me ending this chapter where I did. I mean, you can all see where this is going, right? She's just impatient. (Love you, bb.)**

**So, there's one more chapter of this bad boy left. I promise, you'll get the good stuff. I hope to get it up sometime this week. Without going into great detail, I don't want to leave you all hanging for chapters and I'm facing some pretty serious surgery (two of them, actually) in the very near future.**

**Thank you for your love and reviews. I'm so sorry I've been fail at replying to them. Maybe when I'm in recovery?**


	6. Chapter 6

**This is it, folks. **

**I don't own Twilight, its characters, or anything else that is publicly recognizable. SecretServiceWard is mine.  
**

* * *

Bella spreads herself comfortably across her bed. She is laughing, and her lips are slightly swollen from kissing Alice. I growl possessively and settle my body next to hers on the bed. I kiss her until she pulls away and sucks in deep mouthfuls of air. "Wow, Edward."

Grasping the bottom of her dress, I motion to her to lift her hips so I can take it off. When it's discarded on the floor, I drink in the sight of her body. She's beautiful; perfectly proportioned with curves that never fail to make my mouth water. I reach behind her to unclasp her bra, and for the first time ever, it takes more than one try. My hands are trembling more than I thought.

Slowly, I divest us of our clothing. When I am hovering above her, kissing her and dipping fingers between her legs to spread her wetness along my length, her smile grows impossibly wider. "Edward," she says, breaking the silence for the first time since I took her dress off.

I pull away slightly and rest my forehead on hers. "You're not ready," I say, already taking deep breaths and trying to calm my libido.

"No. Wait, that's what I mean. Yes, I'm ready. I want this." She plays with the hair at the nape of my neck and kisses both of my cheeks. "I just wanted to let you know," she whispers in my ear. "You lose."

She laughs, almost too loudly for the room, and I quiet her by slowly sinking into her.

I want to go slowly, I do. But I can't. She feels too good, too right. She makes little gasps and moans, and too soon, I feel my lower body tightening and spring loading for release. Though I want to keep the entire length of my body against hers, I know she won't come if I do. I rest my ass against my heels and pull her hips up, sliding a hand down her stomach and touch her. Soft words of encouragement spill from me, and she falls apart. I follow quickly.

Hours later, after three more rounds of love making, I pull her to me and smile, kissing her forehead gently. "Sleep well, Bella."

"Night Edward."

# # #

The next morning, I startle awake. My eyes open quickly, and I am not at all impressed to see Leah Clearwater standing at the foot of Bella's bed. "How did you get in here?" I hiss, even though I know the door's lock is flimsy and easily picked.

Instead of answering me, Leah raises an eyebrow and gestures to the very naked woman lying across my chest. "She's got an appearance at a campaign event in three hours."

I pull the sheet further over us. "Three? Then why are you waking her now?"

Leah shakes her head and smirks. "Cullen, you're a man who just started sleeping with his girlfriend. Like you're going to let her out of bed for at least an hour."

I nod and smile sheepishly when she relocks the door on her way out.

Now. How to wake Bella? We were up quite late the night before, and judging by how she hasn't moved while Leah and I carried on a conversation, she's exhausted.

I trail my fingers over her shoulder and press gentle kisses against her hair. She shifts slightly, murmuring, "Most comfortable pillow ever," into my chest. Seconds later, she looks up at me and a sleepy smile spreads across her face. "Good, I wasn't dreaming," she says through a yawn. Her eyes widen and she slaps a hand over her mouth. "Sorry," she mumbles through her fingers.

The grin on my face feels so wide I am sure my face is going to split in two, but I cover my mouth, too, before whispering, "Good morning." I lean down and touch the hand that covers my mouth to the one covering hers and kiss my palm with a loud smacking noise, so she knows what I've done.

Bella's cheeks flush. "We need to brush before there's any more of that." She climbs over me and when she looks over her should to tell me to follow her into the bathroom, she starts giggling uncontrollably. "C'mon, Edward. Let's get our teeth brushed so I can help you take care of that," she gasps, waving a hand toward my lower body.

We kiss the entire way from the bathroom to the bed. Bella gropes me far more than I grope her, and I can't control myself. While I'd really like to recreate that night at the fraternity party, I don't want to have sex against a wall. At least, not yet. Instead, when I feel the back of her knees hit the bed, I push on her shoulders until she's sitting. I kneel between her spread knees and start kissing her stomach.

"Edward," she half gasps, half laughs, "that really tickles."

"Don't care." Running a hand up her leg, I stop and trace back and forth with my thumb where her thigh meets her body. Her breath hitches and I smile against her skin. "This tickle, too?" Before she has a chance to answer, I dip my head lower and take a long, slow lick. I don't stop until she is panting my name and pulling my hair.

# # #

After a quickie against the wall - apparently Bella's mind and mine share a gutter - we dress to cover the important parts, unlock the door, and cuddle together on the bed, talking softly until Leah knocks and reminds Bella of her campaign appearance.

I walk out into the hall and let Alice know I'll be in the shower before closing myself in the bathroom. While the shower heats up, I shave and run through my schedule for the day in my head. Alice and Jasper spent most of the night 'making up' in her room. He's still asleep, and she was barely awake when I told her I'd be in the bathroom, so I venture to guess my day will be a fairly relaxed one.

Stepping into the shower, I groan as the water hits the sore muscles of my neck and lower back. Last night - and this morning - were totally worth the pain I feel today.

My brain is going a million miles a minute. Normally, I am singularly focused on each task I perform throughout my day, but now I cannot stop thinking about Bella. I love being with her. She is fun, smart, sassy; everything I want in a woman. But she is also trouble. Since I joined the agency, I have wanted to protect the President. I never thought I would end up in a relationship with his daughter. And though I technically protect Alice now, I know I will always protect Bella first. Even Sam couldn't argue with me over that. It is what I am supposed to do.

But the fact remains, I cannot protect Bella's father while I am in a relationship with her. Because I can't see myself being without her, I run through options in my head that will keep me close enough to the First Family to maybe protect the next President.

I can't come up with anything. Every option I think of will require me moving back to Washington right away. I know I can't do that.

"Edward, are you ever getting out of the shower?" Alice calls through the door. "You can't possibly be rubbing one out. Bella's not as quiet as either one of you thinks."

"Yeah, Alice. Give me two more minutes."

So much for a calm day. Alice insists we go shopping, lest I spend my day pouting about Leah being with Bella instead of me. Five hours and twenty stops to find the perfect shoes to go with Alice's dress for the fundraising ball next month, we finally arrive back at the apartment. Bella smiles widely at me when I walk through the door, and the moment I put Alice's bags down, she wraps herself around me.

"I missed you," she murmurs in my ear.

I bury my face in her hair and take a deep breath. "Missed you, too."

Alice babbles on in the corner; something about going to dinner, but Bella and I ignore her and head for my bedroom.

As soon as the door closes, (again we ignore Leah's instructions to keep the door open) Bella attacks me, kissing all over my face.

"Bella," I say between kissing her back, "we need to talk."

She takes a step away from me, and her chin falls to her chest. "What did my father decree this time?"

I shake my head. "No, no it's not that. I did some thinking when I was in the shower today."

She smiles, kisses me again, and walks us back toward the bed. "You know," she says, "I never did get to do what I wanted this morning." Her hands fumble at my belt.

I kiss her back, but put my hands over hers. "Not now," I mumble through kisses. "This is serious." She pouts again. "I never said we couldn't kiss, though."

We curl around each other on my bed, and kiss for a long while. When she shifts to start kissing my neck, I thread my fingers through her hair. "So I was thinking," I start. She hums against my neck and continues to kiss and lick at it. "I need to find a new job."

She jerks away from me. "What do you mean you need to find a new job? Why would you quit? Your dream is to protect my dad."

"No," I correct gently, "I've changed my mind. I don't want to protect your dad."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't do that while I'm dating you." I kiss her nose. "And I'm not going to stop doing _that_any time soon."

She wraps her body around my torso and kisses me hard. "So what are you going to do?"

"There are a few things I could do, but they'd probably take me back to Washington."

She shakes her head furiously, like I knew she would. The last thing either of us wants is for me to move away. "Shh. I'm going to take a leave of absence," I tell her, burying my face in her neck because I'm not sure how she will react. "You've got Leah now. I'm going to enroll in Master's courses next semester. It's a perfectly acceptable thing to do. Agents go on leave all the time to further their education."

She shoves me away from her neck and her eyes flit back and forth between mine. "You're serious? You'd do that for me? But what if Charlie gets reelected?"

"_When_ he gets reelected," I start unbuttoning her shirt, "I'll decide. Maybe I'll do a double Master' will take twice as long."

Her hands reach for my belt again. "Hmm," she says as she slides my zipper down, "I think that sounds like a great idea. But where will you live?"

"I hear there's a pair of girls -" She swats my chest playfully. "Okay, there's a pair of women living just off campus who could use a guy who knows a thing or two about things to stay in their apartment."

"Sounds like something I'd be jealous of." She pushes my pants over my hips.

"Well, I have it on good authority they have someone moving into their third bedroom already." I moan lowly when she slides her hand up under my shirt.

"So why would they want you to move in?"

"One of the girls gets especially frightened when she sees a spider. So I could move in as her resident spider killer." Her skirt slides down easily, and I kick it off the edge of the bed.

"Are you any good at killing spiders?" she asks seriously.

We're both completely bare. I roll onto my back and pull her on top of me. "Bella, I'm the best at killing spiders."

"Good," she groans as she sinks down on me. "Alice will be so glad to have you sharing her room."

* * *

**While I tried to keep this as true as I could with limited Mr. Google research, I don't know whether or not Secret Service Agents are able to take a leave of absence to continue their education. It's fiction, so of course Edward could do that if he wanted.**

**Thank you to my love, LyricalKris for encouraging me. Thank you to Barburella for teasing me in the second review she left me, and for being a constant source of the LOLs in my doc. I'm ever grateful to the two of them. Thank you all for reading and reviewing. My plans right now are to do review replies while I'm recouping from my surgery(ies). **


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